


we were the one thing in the galaxy god didn't have his eyes on

by abyssalSympathy



Series: ValhallaBound 'verse-merge [8]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, SBURB Fan Session, Trans Male Character, almost bike crash, and very much not from any version of earth, author is a fool, characters are very technically not human, inspired by a mountain goats song, kind of, pov is rage aspect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 05:39:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19457506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abyssalSympathy/pseuds/abyssalSympathy
Summary: Cetus has been alchemizing again. Nemesis heads over to her Land to see what's up.





	we were the one thing in the galaxy god didn't have his eyes on

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not going to lie to you, this whole thing was inspired by the song "jenny" by the mountain goats. i had the [erin mckeown cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxBxXIahbms) on repeat while i was writing this, mostly for the string instrumentation on it (which are the pov character's associated instrument!). hope y'all enjoy it!
> 
> **edit 5/3/2020:** changed the diegetic formatting on the chatlogs just a little! turns out aliens don't have to use pesterchum

\-- capturedClarity [CC] began negotiating with amiableTurmoil [AT] at ??:?? --  
CC: hey are you doing anything today  
AT: nah man it’s slow over here braxas is out with echidna  
AT: what's up??  
CC: come over to lotal  
CC: i got some cool shit to show you  
AT: gimme like ten minutes!!  
\-- amiableTurmoil [AT] reached accord with capturedClarity [CC] at ??:?? --

And so you transportalized to the surface of the Land of Towers and Lenses, met by an imposing five feet of woman. Cetus Lumiere was her own special kind of beast, and it felt like she could fill the rolling green hills of her Land with presence alone.

"Took you long enough," she complains at her typical near-shout. A wicked grin splits her face. "Come on."

She leads you through the hills past tall structures, battlements, spires worthy of the title she's given herself, all topped with curving sheets of glass. The beams reflected between them cut across the sky in streaks- she's been questing. But the place she leads you to is closer to her original home, the apartment set precariously at the top of a tower. There's a new building at its side, miniscule in comparison to the vastness of everything in her Land.

Cetus stops you right outside its door, beckoning you close. "Aight, you can't tell anyone I got this yet. Not even Nyx knows. You're gonna be the first to see it, okay?" Her eyes glint with the conspiracy of whatever is in there, the look pulling heat into your cheeks. She's the only one who ever makes you feel like this- shyness tamping down the confidence you usually feel around your friends, making your knees weak. And she's letting you in on this. She chose _you._ If you don't impress her now, then you'll never be able to-

You force down the fluttering feeling in your stomach and try to match her grin. "You got it. My lips are sealed."

"Fuckin' _fantastic,_ " she replies, barely waiting a second before she swings the door open. "Feast your eyes, my dude."

And inside is- is some kind of wheeled bullshit, something that no one in Prospit or Derse has seen in years. Metal plating and two wheels with an engine in between, propped up on a kickstand. You take a few steps in, awed.

"A motorcycle, fresh off the fuckin' line," she purrs.

"How did you get this, Cetus?" you exclaim, whirling to face her. Sparks dance in your heart. You barely even notice that your voice was a few clicks higher than where you usually struggle to keep it.

"A long few days of alchemizing, my friend." There's a hand on her hip, her presence filling up the room yet again. "You should see the piles of garbage it took for me to get to this." She gestures to it like the gold it is. No one's been allowed to own a motorized vehicle who wasn't rich, government, or military on Skaia for ages, let alone knowing how to drive one, and she's got the cream of the crop here in a shed. 

"Dude.... Heph's gonna be pissed when he finds out." You know how long he's been trying to slap a car together in that shop, even before all of you in Skaianet met.

"Eh, he can be next on the list to see. But he's prolly doin some Timey bullshit on LOCAP right now. We're _here._ The day is young, Nemesis."

You feel thunderstruck. Is she inviting you on a ride?

You're not even sure if it's real as she walks the thing outside into the grass. It gleams golden in the sunlight, its plating in Cetus's signature orange. She pats the seat behind her as she slings her leg over it. You follow along in your giddy daze.

"I've only tried this a few times, but I think I got the hang of it." She smiles over her shoulder. The engine revs loud, sending shockwaves through your body. "You're gonna have to hold on tight, though." There's that wicked grin, wide and sharp as a butcher knife - your arms go to jelly.

"G-gotcha," you manage, slipping your arms around her ample torso, just enough to keep yourself on the thing. She revs it again and you yelp, pulling so close that your face slams into the back of her neck.

You're absolutely fucking mortified for a second, but she just cackles. "Gotcha indeed, Rabiem. Ready?" All you can do is nod into her back. "We're fucking goin' then!"

\- And she takes off like a rocket, a cloud of dust in your wake. You hang on for dear life, heart pounding like a snare drum beneath your binder. Your nervousness quickly gives way to something lighter. Cetus in front of you hollers as you launch across the hills, the bike catching air in bursts. Your voice joins hers and the roar of the engine.

There's blonde hair in your face, dust in your eyes, and your legs feel like iron. You feel just as alive as the first time as the first time you jumped off one of the waterfalls on your Land. Both of you are shrieking in laughter, the sound tossed to the wind.

Cetus steers the bike up this mountainous hill, leaning in close to the handlebars. The sky is bright blue ahead of you, beams of light crisscrossing its expanse. Your heart pounds against Cetus's back. Somehow fear never crosses your mind. There's just exhilaration, and her.

She makes the jump. The two of you howl into the openness. It's perfect, _transcendent-_

Up until the moment you realize Cetus isn't gonna stick the landing.

The impact tosses you off the bike. You hit soft grass with a grunt. When you pull yourself up, you see the bike, looking absolutely fucking wrecked, and Cetus motionless beside it.

"Cet!" You scramble over to her as fast as your aching limbs will take you. If she's unconscious you're so fucked- you managed to roll but if she hit her head- ah, fuck, you gotta text someone for help and-

A soft wheezing noise beneath you interrupts that train of thought. "Cet?" you cry. She wheezes a bit louder, the corners of her lips twitching. "Cet???" You almost try to shake her, but settle for a firm hand on her shoulder.

The wheezing grows stronger and stronger until they break into a laugh. Cetus pounds the ground next to her, absolutely lost to hysterics. Your tension breaks too, finally letting you smile.

She's there for a minute before her eyelids crack open, meeting your gaze with fire. There's that devious glint again- and she's grabbed your shirt (a rush of terror- no, no, she hasn't got your binder) and pulled your face down to hers in one fell swoop.

Cetus smiles so brightly even in catching your lips. You've been crushing on her for- for what feels like ages, since you've all been together, but this is so much more than anything you ever imagined. She slows, maybe sensing your shock and trying to pull away. You meet her again in kind, gripping her shoulder. Your heart is going to fucking burst with the muchness of all of it, and you can just feel her heart racing to match.

You wouldn't mind wrecking more often, with her.

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this work, please feel free to [join our discord server!!](https://discord.gg/Mehbr5q) arcane and i have way too much content and we love answering questions about it


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